


A Real Fight

by adventuresofcomicbookgirl



Series: Femslash Fic Bonanza 2016 [2]
Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon
Genre: F/F, Femslash February, Fluff
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-22
Updated: 2016-02-22
Packaged: 2018-05-22 16:53:46
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,142
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6087364
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/adventuresofcomicbookgirl/pseuds/adventuresofcomicbookgirl
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Prompted by azuresquirrel from Tumblr when I asked for FemslashFeb prompts for my fave Sailor Moon  ships: "any Mako/Ami fluff will do for me, but to be more specific, Mako and Ami play video games co-opt, how will their relationship survive Mako's complete lack of gaming skills?"</p>
            </blockquote>





	A Real Fight

This was not going the way Makoto had planned at all.  She had thought it would be so _funny_ to play the video game that had been released about the famous Sailor Senshi. She’d thought Ami would be _thrilled_ to receive it as a gift. It was such a totally cute and original date idea, right?

But Ami had been skeptical about it from the beginning. “It’s wonderful, Mako-chan, really, but…I mean, don’t we already fight together all the time? Are you sure it wouldn’t all seem too familiar and stressful?”

“Well, it’s different as a video game, though, isn’t it? We can just relax…” Mako didn’t know why Ami looked so worried all of the sudden.

“Are video games really relaxing though?” Ami gave a nervous little laugh. “I mean…I find them sort of frustrating, don’t you?”

Mako’s eyebrows creased in confusion. “ _You_ don’t ever seem frustrated when you play games.”

“Ah well…I mean they’re frustrating for some people. Which is completely fine and understandable-“

It finally clicked. Mako flushed. “Look, I didn’t _mean_ to break that console at the arcade. All I did was pound my fist- I forget my own strength sometimes, you know that. You don’t have to worry about me destroying your stuff.”

“Of course!” Ami said quickly. “I know that, I wasn’t implying-“

“I know I’m not great at video games, but this will be an opportunity to get better, right? You can teach me your tricks. I promise I’ll do my best to keep up.”

“I’m not worried about that, I’m just worried about you not enjoying yourself.”

“Ami-chan.” Mako reached out and squeezed her hand. “I always enjoy myself with you.”

Ami went beat red and her lips curved into a small, quivering smile.  “O-okay, then.”

Forty-five minutes later, Mako was, as usual, wishing she’d listened to Ami. Every new failure in the game and her face burned more and more with humiliation.

She almost wished they were fighting for real instead of this. The game was like horrible distorted version of reality. Mako and Ami’s roles had been painfully reversed. Sailor Mercury was the big protector leading the charge, punching bad guys into the ground effortlessly, shielding everyone from harm…and Sailor Jupiter was the one who kept to the rear and had to struggle not to take damage.

In fact, it was unfair to compare her to Ami in real battle- she wasn’t _useful_ like Ami was, she could come up with no clever plans or strategies, no sneaky saves. She wasn’t an _asset,_ she was doing nothing but holding her partner back.

She’d gotten them killed at least five times now and she could tell even Ami’s limitless patience was starting to run out. Her lips were bunching up that way they did when she was annoyed. No matter what tricks she showed Mako, no matter what great advice she gave, it didn’t make any difference. Mako felt absolutely pathetic.

“You know, I think we should do something else-

“ _No!”_ Mako cut in angrily. “I’m not stopping until I can do this! I just have to- RAAAAGGH!” She charged a monster…and was immediately blown to smithereens. “ _Shit!”_ It was all she could do not to throw the controller down.

Ami’s lips were a thin line now. She was probably seriously considering breaking up with her. Wouldn’t that just be a great story? “I was so bad at video games my girlfriend dumped me!” Finally, a heartbreak that made the whole debacle with her old senpai look good in comparison.

“Mako-chan. Please just…calm down a little,” Ami finally said.

Mako dropped the controller in her lap and buried her face in her hands. “I can’t! I just don’t understand why I am so bad at this.”

“It does seem like you should be a _bit_ better. So much of video games is about reflexes after all-“

“Then why are _you_ so good at it?”

As soon as it slipped out, Mako clapped her hands over her mouth. She hadn’t been thinking at all! This was by far the meanest thing she’d ever said to Ami- she was a terrible person. “Oh no, I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean.”

“It’s fine, Mako-chan, I know I’m a little slow,” Ami said with a smile.

“N-Not really! Not nearly as bad as Usagi-“

“There’s faint praise if I ever heard any,” Ami laughed. Then her expression turned serious. “I’ve… wondered about it too. Of course, video game moves are repetitive and you can memorize the pattern easily…but I think it’s more than that. I think in real fights something weighs me down…the stakes are so high. I’m always thinking a million things at once, worrying about a million things….”

She bit her lip. “I can’t stop seeing every possibility, every consequence of every action, all the ways things go wrong…it freezes me in my tracks sometimes. But in video games, I don’t have to worry about that. The enemy is predictable. The consequences don’t last. You can always reset. Nobody…nobody dies for real.” Ami looked away. “Sorry, that probably sounds foolish…”

Mako reached over and pulled Ami close. “It’s not foolish at all,” she muttered into her hair.

Ami was blushing again, but she put her arms around Mako as well. “I wish I was more like you. You don’t have any hesitation or waste your time worrying, you just act. You’re so in the moment. I think that’s why this is difficult for you, you know, it’s hard for you to really throw yourself into it when it’s all on a screen…but in real life, you’re the one who has the advantage.”

“Ami-chan, you’ve saved me so many times with that hesitating and worrying,” Mako held her tightly. “The reason I’m able to do it at all is because I have someone like you by my side who does all the thinking. It’s why we’re the perfect team.”

Ami pulled away from Mako, looking up at her. She wondered if she’d said something wrong, but before she could ask, Ami kissed her.

“Thank you, Mako-chan,” she said softly when she pulled away. Now Mako was the one with the flaming red face.

“H-How about we call it a night on the video game and I’ll make you some dinner?” She finally managed to say, rubbing the back of her neck.

“That sounds wonderful,” Ami said, switching the screen off. “I’ll help out.”

“No, you don’t have to. I want to make up for what a disaster this was-“

“There’s nothing to make up for. And I like cooking together with you.” Ami stood up and offered Mako her hand. “We’re the perfect team, after all.”

Mako relented with a grin, taking the offered hand. It was always a good idea to listen to Am


End file.
